Blog: Homelessness Ends Here

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, homelessness decreased 2.1% between January 2010 and January 2011, and 5.3% since 2007. The data are an indication that we are on the right track with our overall approaches to the problem. Ending homelessness starts with creating more affordable housing, but our efforts cannot end there.

As funders, we must grapple with supporting innovations that show promise and, in the process, embrace a certain risk in our commitments. Are you supporting innovation with your funding?

Our board chair, David Wertheimer, recently wrote about Funders Together and philanthropy's role in ending homelessness for the NCRP journal, "Responsive Philanthropy." The piece, titled "Maximizing the Impact and Amplifying the Voice of Philanthropy," provides a good overview of our organization and describes what funders can do to help end homelessness in America.

For Veteran's Day 2011, Tom Nurmi--Funders Together board member, William S. Abell Foundation trustee, and Vietnam veteran--reflects on veterans homelessness and the role of philanthropy in addressing it.

Regarding philanthropy and advocacy, there is a considerable distance between what we can do within our sector to let our local, state, and national leaders know what we are thinking and the legal act of lobbying that is clearly out of bounds. That line is actually far down the field from where many of us focus most of our activities and efforts. There is a world of things we can do that keep us well within the limits the law puts on our sector.